Vlindrel:Defense Against the Demonic Arts
---- ---- ---- The trek back to Forlorin has been a long one, and though grateful, Delpha spent the walk lingering far behind Caspian and Ahiga, insisting that the Reformatory would send someone after her now that she's been freed from her prison. However the hour-long journey has been uneventful, and they now walk towards the Lady-in-Waiting and up the steps to the large Forlorn Flame. Lady-in-Waiting: Knight of Forlorin... You have brought before a daughter whose veins runneth thick with Pale Blood... The fire pops and crackles. Though her voice is calm, she has a stern wording, as if she's been offended. Caspian: He ascends the steps ahead of Ahiga and Delpha, bowing his head slightly. My Lady, Knight-Hunter Delpha seeks audience with you, as there are no more Keepers of the Holy Flame within the boundaries of her Kingdom and she wishes to see you for herself. It is she that healed Ahiga and Tate, and is the reason for why they arrived here, more so than myself. Lady-in-Waiting: This Daughter of Argyria is the one who colluded them with Pale Blood, and set them on their path to find the Forlorn Flame? Her eyes flicker with the crackling flame as she stares into it deeply. Caspian: He looks back to Ahiga for a moment, then to the Lady-in-Waiting. That is the course of events that occured before I found them, yes. Lady-in-Waiting: Then step forward, Good Hunter... I am the Lady-in-Waiting... I keep the holy flame, and tend to the safety of this hamlet... The flames roll in short crackles of soothing warmth, melting into her dress as they touch her. Good Hunter of Argyria, what is it that you seek within the ruined walls of this forlorn flame? Delpha: She ascends the steps, bowing curteously and keeping her head bowed while speaking. I sought to see a keeper of the flame, for there are none in Argyria. Having seen a warrior of Loyce, and hearing him speak of the Keeper that tends a Flame, I hoped that I might lay eyes upon two things thought merely fables... For the two of you are what we aspire to be like... Selfless, vigilant, loyal, fearless. Caspian: He looks down and to the side. It's a strange feeling that someone would aspire to be like him when he struggles so hard to be like his parents. I strive yet to live up to such aspirations. Lady-in-Waiting: This White Knight is young yet, but he will amount to great things, as all Royal Knights of Loyce do... The fire crackles loudly, and a shower of embers rise up from it, swirling around the red-hot weapons stuck within the flame. I implore you, Good Hunter... Link with the Forlorn Flame as the Hunters of Old did before you, so that you may bathe... Again and again... In its holy flame... Delpha: You honor me, Lady of the Flame. She finally stops bowing and walks to the flame, holding her black-gloved hands out to it. The crackling flame flares with sparks, and Delpha stumbles a little. Apologies, Keeper... I've suffered a slight dizzying... She shakes her head a little and slowly descends the steps, sitting on the bottom on. Caspian: Are you alright, Knight-Hunter? He watches as she sits to rest. Delpha: ...Yes I... I merely require rest. She pulls her twinblade from her back and sets it next to her. Pay me no mind Caspian... Lady-in-Waiting: I sense within the two of you souls enough to bolster your strength. Come forth Knight of Forlorin and Young Animist, so that I might burn the essence of those souls as tinder for yours. Ahiga: What? He looks to Caspian from the bottom of the stairs. Caspian: He walks up to the steps and kneels before the fire, resting his sword-spear on the floor before him. Lady-in-Waiting: Holy Flame, bind the sovereignless strength of these vestiges as tinder for this young one's Soul... Let their ashes cast themselves upon his form... So that their embers serve his purpose, and yours... The bonfire bursts with sparks that rise upwards into the sky. Caspian: He takes a deep breath, concentrating on what to mold the souls into. White wisps of light flow from Caspian and into the bonfire, where they crackle and pop, turning to smoke and ash, before flowing back out and into Caspian to rest upon him as a coating of grey soot that slowly fades away as it sinks into his body. Caspian - Caspian: He stands up and takes a few steps back, feeling stronger than he was only a moment ago. Your turn Ahiga. With what you've slain today, you must have a wealth of souls to empower yourself with. Ahiga: He looks at Caspian for a moment, then to the Lady-in-Waiting. Unsure of what this entire thing does or what it entails, he hesistates for a moment. Caspian: Relax Ahiga. Through the bonfire you will be made stronger, more powerful. It is just another of its many blessings. Ahiga: He looks at Caspian, then walks closer to the Lady-in-Waiting and slowly kneels down. Lady-in-Waiting: Feel what it is that you wish to embolden... The traits of your innermost being, empowered by the sovereingless vestiges of what you've slain. Feel it enhancing that which you desire, mold the ashes to your needs, so that you may better reach your journey's end... Ahiga: As he concentrates, it's like he can feel what the Lady-in-Waiting means. He can feel something flowing from his body, almost like a coldness, that then flows back onto him as a thin layer of warming comforting ashes, and how the ashes sink into his skin. The way the ashes become what he wants them to be is indescribable. It's like they're simply an extension of his being that knows what it is that he wants, and they empower those traits accordingly. Ahiga - , , } Ahiga: He stands back up. I... It's almost like when I got a new spirit... I can feel the difference. Caspian: Your soul requires very little ash during the initial empowering, but the cost rises as your strength increases... Keep that in mind, Ahiga. Ahiga: He nods a little. We'll need to kill more undead, or more powerful undead, to get even stronger, right? Caspian: We must seek adversity, in order to overcome our weaknesses, and see you safely returned home. Ahiga: You are so selfless, Caspian. He turns and looks at Caspian with a solemn expression. Risking pain and death, over and over again, just to help us... Delpha is right to say that you are worth aspiring to be. Caspian: It is my purpose to help those in need... It is as a knight should be. He smiles, but then quickly turns away, pulling his weapon up onto his shoulder. Ahiga notes that he seems to do it with much less effort. I will prepare a place for you to rest in the guard's tower, Knight-Hunter Delpha. It may not be a grand room, but I hope that you will find it better than the cell you were confined to. He turns and heads off to his shack to get some blankets, running off quickly. Delpha: She stands up as she watches Caspian run off. ---- Earlier that day, at the Aurelion Estate's grand archive... ---- The room around Morganstern is a vast darkness, filled with giant pillars lined with countless shelves of tomes, parts of them are illuminated by floating candles with dim flames. Morganstern is peering upwards and its single eye moves downward as it traces the side of the pillar ahead of it. On the side facing the Headmaster, the towering shelf has collapsed and the floor is piled with the destroyed remains of it and all the books that rested upon it. Around Morganstern stands a group of faceless mannequins, not nearly the headmaster's towering height. They are made of gears and clockwork and each of them quietly ticks as they survey the wreckage. Morganstern: As attendants of Aurelion... You have but a singular purpose. Its voice speaks with both the male and female tones making it sound like two people are speaking at once. ...Maintain the Estate... And yet... During my dormancy this place... Has fallen to ruin... It holds out its hand and several of the books begin to rise up into the air, pages falling out of them in a meandering rain. These tomes are irreplaceable... It pulls back its hand and the books fall back down onto the pile. It then turns and points at one of the mannequins and a flick of violet light darts out and strikes the creature. In an instant the thing shrieks and then collapses in on itself, its scream cut short as its replaced by the sound of breaking gears and bending steel. Morganstern's voice screams out with both voices, which are then drowned out by a third voice, that of an old woman's booming yell. NOW CLEAN THIS UP! ALL OF IT! Morganstern moves to point at another mannequin but stops, freezing in place before its eye flickers slightly. ...Demon spawn... Here? The grand archive vanishes and Morganstern is instantly standing in a large stone room that's nearly empty except for a few long tables and chairs stacked up against the wall. The room looks like a huge ballroom. Morganstern: You trespass upon Aurelion's sanctum. It looks around at the walls and tile floor. Extra-terrestrial entities are unwelcom'd here. It turns and flicks it brass hand, the stone slabs in one of the walls pulls away like cloth and Narak is ripped forth, sent skidding over the floor towards Morganstern before stopping a few feet away as the tile morphs and re-orientates into a magical binding seal, which suddenly glows with blue light. Narak feels like he suddenly weighs a thousand tons, and he slams down against the seal, so heavy that he can't move. What lowly spawn dares to walk these halls? Narak: Magic... He practically growls the word as he writhes slightly, attempting to move. You will not impede my purpose... Free me or I will beckon forth Father. Morganstern: It takes a step forwards, its voice deepening to the old man's. You will do no such thing... The room trembles, and the old stones groan under the figurative weight of some unnatural presence. The seal trembles, and then suddenly cracks radiate outwards through the tiles, destroying it. Narak: It is done. He gets to his feet and then suddenly flattens like paper and escapes down through one the small cracks of the floor. There's an echoing growl-like laughter that lingers after he departs. There's a quiet rumbling, like thunder sounding somewhere in the distance of Aurelion's great halls. Xephonsacul: ...Witches... A slim demon in a robe-like black hoodie is suddenly standing across the room from Morganstern. There's holes cut in the sides of the hoodie that allow ram-like horns to rise up and curl outwards away from his head in a cork-screw. Always with the witches... The inside of the hoodie is completely black, but Morganstern can see that he has large black hooves in place of feet. Beliruy: Always so full of themselves... The voice comes from behind Morganstern. Standing opposite to the first demon is a second one, far more muscular and taller than the first. Especially when themselves are so full of witches... He tilts his head upwards and Morganstern can make out a crimson jack-o-lantern smile, glowing in the darkness of his hood. Morganstern: It turns to its side, looking to the second demon. Two demons... Its voice sounds slightly less confident. Xephonsacul: I suppose it pays to have two forms in simultaneous existence... He takes a heavy step forwards and his hoof clops against the floor loudly. Despite his slim and short frame he's much heavier than he appears. How does brass taste, I wonder? A pair of large black leathery wings expand from his back. Beliruy: He starts walking towards Morganstern with the same heavy footfalls. Xephonsacul: You are older than most mortals, but still young enough by our standards... He holds out his hand. Some say wisdom comes with age... Are you wise enough to submit? Morganstern: Its eye adjusts and shrinks slightly, then expands to a flickering. Enough talk! I will banish you back to the pit you crawled from. It turns towards Xephonsacul and as it does a the tiles between Beliruy and Morganstern morph into a wall of weight iron, magically imbued to be more durable than earthly iron. As this happens a huge chandelier above Xephonsacul breaks from its chains and comes crashing down, its form shifting to a thousand falling steel arrows that rain down onto the demon. Xephonsacul: A powerful burst of wind rushes up around him, forming a tall column of dust that catches the falling arrows and whirls them around around. I'm going to enjoy breaking you... A wide smile appears in the darkness of his hood, just like the other one had, and the Dust Devil races out towards Morganstern, ripping arrows from the ground and turning the small tornado into a steel blender. Morganstern: It steps forwards and points at the oncoming tornado, blasting the dust devil apart with a booming bolt of raw lighting. The lighting continues through the tornado and stikes the demon behind it, exploding in radiating growths of ice. Xephonsacul: The ice explodes off of him in a flash of hellfire. He then steps forwards and stomps on the ground. What is the power of a witch against a first born of Hell?! A pillar of hellfire screams up from the ground in front of him and tears across the floor, forming into a funnel of demonic flames that races towards Morganstern. Morganstern: It tilts its head. You will find me a capable opponent. Morganstern vanishes, the hellfire missing completely. The witch suddenly appears to Xephonsacul's right, snapping its fingers, a huge silver cannon suddenly transmutes itself into being from the air and falls to the ground next to the witch. Viere! The barrel of the cannon explodes in white flames, shooting a arcane-runed cannonball towards the demon. A long black tail wraps around Xephonsacul's waist and pulls him from harm's way a split-second before he's hit. Beliruy: His long tail puts Xephonsacul down next to him. He's standing about ten feet away from where Xephonsacul was, the hellfire having burned through the iron wall to let him through. Walls before the flames of hell do melt- A huge hammer made of crimson steel appears in his right hand, the top of it suddenly explodes with long jagged spikes, making it look like a massively oversized morning star. So that this morning star can crush a morning star. He leaps forwards towards the witch, closing the distance in an instant as he slams the huge Hell Weapon down onto it. Morganstern: It ducks down reflexively and two pillars of stone burst up from the tiles and up diagonally into both sides of the hammer, stopping it just before it crushes the witch. Morganstern quickly steps back from under the stone pillars and points to the cannon, a flash of light darting from its fingertip to the cannon. The canon's wheels transmute into spider-legs, and it heaves itself forward and aims the barrel. Viere! It fires at the demon. Beliruy: His skin turns to black granite as the cannon ball hits him, keeping him from harm, but still launching him away. Xephonsacul: He flanks the witch and raises his hands, two chunks of rock-salt in them. The salt blasts towards Morganstern like two shots from a powerful shotgun, as this happens two chunks of molten stone rip themselves up from the ground and then fly towards the tall witch. Morganstern: It lets out a yell as the salts blasts its robe to shreds and sends the metal witch stumbling to catch its footing. The ripped robe reveals a body made entirely of twisted black brass filigree, standing atop two exceptionally long legs that end in a sharp point. In Morganstern's chest is a dim blue light emanating from a glowing heart that's pumping magic through the headmaster's body. As Morganstern recovers, the two chunks of molten stone slam into its body and sear holes through the magical robe. The old woman's voice screams out Impossible! The brass beneath glows hot as some of the magma drips away, but looks unharmed otherwise, being heavily warded against supernatural powers. ELCLATIER! The cannonball that hit Beliruy lights up and explodes into blast of pure force, slamming the larger demon through the wall of the ballroom and into the next. I've had enough! Morganstern turns and points to Xephonsacul and the ground below the small demon explodes, launching him up into the air. Le virage kiejeh! The cannon's spider legs turn it around and it aims up at Xephonsacul. Viere! It fires at the demon as flies upwards through the air. The cannon ball slams into the smaller demon, sending him upward at an angle and crashing through the ceiling. Morganstern: The raspy voice of the old woman screams out with powerful magic. ELCLATIER! The ceiling explodes in a blast of powerful force, causing much of it to collapse. Morganstern's eye flickers as it watches for any movement from the rubble. Beliruy: He leaps from the hole in the wall that he was sent through, turning into a massive demonic bear-creature that's nearly as tall as the witch is. He dive-bombs towards Morganstern. Morganstern: As the demon flies towards it, its eye shifts in surprise. Le virage kiejeh! The witch pulls both hands up and the tiles of the floor around it transmute into an iron cage that bends around her in a dome-shape. The cannon jumps on its legs and spins, aiming at the huge demon as he slams into the cage. Viere! Beliruy: He slams into the iron cage rips it up from the ground, slamming it into the nearby cannon and crushing it as it fires, causing it to miss and breaking all of its legs. No more playing! He quickly turns and slams the twisted cage into Morganstern. I'm hungry! Morganstern: The witch is launch away and sent rolling over the ground, chunks of filligree brass breaking off of it. It makes a sound like a dying record player and quickly rises back to its feet. ...I-I-I... Its eye flares bright and all of the brass pieces rush back up into it, welding themselves back into place with flashes of magic. B-be GO-ne fr-OM this-''s'' pl-ACE! Morganstern's voice is jumbled, shifting between voices randomly, almost like a radio station. It points at Beliruy and a blast of raw uncontrolled magic booms forth, flying like a small cloudstorm full of flashing prismatic energy. Beliruy: He leaps over the storm and comes crashing down onto the witch, crushing its legs as he slams Morganstern to the ground. He roars with such power that the floor in the room shakes and parts of the ceiling fall, then grabs both of the witch's arms and rips them off. Morganstern: It lets out a scream of various pitches that sound almost electronic or mechanical auto-tune. Its eye lights up and a powerful beam of raw chaotic magic blasts forth tearing through the demon and nearly cutting him in half at the chest. Beliruy: He roars and leaps back, his thick hide protecting him for the most part, but he still takes a grievous wound. As he jumps back he drops one of Morganstern's arms and flings the other away. He slams into the floor and rolls slightly, struggling to get up as he reverts to his normal size and shape. Morganstern: Its legs flicker with blue light and they bend back into their original shape. It slowly floats up to a standing position and then stumbles its way to the arm Beliruy dropped. The arm floats up and reattaches itself with a series of welding flashes Xephonsacul: He lifts the other arm, the one Beliruy threw and seems satisfied with his prize. The smaller demon's wings are torn and one of his arms is twisted in several different directions, broken in numerous places. He's also hunched slightly, and one of his horns has broken off. He opens his mouth and raises Morganstern's brass arm to the growing opening. The large arm suddenly moves and slashes Xephonsacul across the face with its sharp fingers, then flicks its wrist and and a powerful explosion of frost booms out, launching the demon away from it and sending the arm flying up into the air. Morganstern: The witch shifts and then stumbles forwards like a drunkard, then breaks into a run up an ascending a staircase that's building itself from stone bricks and slabs that are manifesting from thin air around Morganstern. The witch's long legs allow it to move five steps at a time, and as it reaches the top of the stairway its remaining arm darts out and grabs onto the falling arm. It turns it over and presses it back into its shoulder, the filligree of blackened brass reattaching itself and popping the arm back into place with the same series of flashes. Morganstern lets out a gasp of relief that sounds like several people gasping at once. After a moment the witch's entire body flashes and the ragged robes and hat repair themselves, reappearing as they did when the demons first appeared. Morganstern speaks in the old man's voice, strict and forceful. Now be gone from these great halls. The headmaster thrusts both hands out and prisons of energy-runes slowly appear in the air around the two beaten demons. Fiends of hell... For you are not welcomed here... The prisons finish and the two demons are banished from Vlindrel entirely, to wherever it is that they came from. Xephonsacul: He shakily stands and his jack-o-lantern smile returns. One day soon, this corpse of a world will breath its final breath... And it will come crashing down around you as your tomb... And we will be the ones to exhume you... Beliruy: ...Of dead worlds keep clear, for they're the devil's lovely ditches... But for demons like us to be a banquette, for we will make them a feast of witches. His smile also returns, just as the banishment finishes and he vanishes from Vlindrel. Morganstern waits a moment, looking around at the ruined ballroom as if to make sure the demons are actually gone. After a moment the towering witch collapses to the ground and sparks of magic flash from its form. Morganstern: The witch's voice comes out as that of a tired young woman. ...Noxalas... The oversized gauntlet appears next to the headmaster. ...Prepare for me an ammonia bath... The witch's eye flickers dimly, and there's a quiet clicking sound from inside as the filigree attempts to weave itself back into its proper internal positions.